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The fractious detective's character and manner encapsulate much of Sicilian mythology and astute detective work. The original books are written in a mixture of Italian, strict Sicilian, and a Sicilianized Italian.

Although the Inspector Montalbano series of novels are staged in the Sicilian context, Camilleri uncompromisingly confronts many contemporary political and social problems. The novels were translated into English by Stephen Sartarelli. The translation of the Montalbano novels started only after five novels had already been published in Italian and gained popularity among the Italian-speaking public. Sartarelli has attempted to maintain the mixture of Italian and Sicilian language in the dialogues. In addition, he has added notes at the end of each of the novels, which give short explanations regarding many of the peculiarities of Sicilian and Italian society depicted in the novels.

The name Montalbano is a homage to the Spanish writer Manuel Vázquez Montalbán; the similarities between Montalbán's Pepe Carvalho and Camilleri's fictional detective are remarkable. Both writers make great play of their protagonists' gastronomic preferences.[1]

Inspector Montalbano is an engaging hero – honest, decent and loyal. He has his own way of doing things, and his superiors regard him as something of a loose cannon. One of the strengths of the novels is Montalbano's ability to navigate through a murky world, a world of shady connections and favours owed and owing, without compromising himself beyond what he can live with. There is a great deal of humour in his character, such as his unconditional love for silence while enjoying a good meal, but the primary subtext is hard criticism of the social and political situation of both the Sicilian and Italian contexts. In fact, Camilleri has said that social commentary "...was always my aim. In many crime novels, the events seem completely detached from the economic, political and social context in which they occur. [...] In my books, I deliberately decided to smuggle into a detective novel a critical commentary on my times. This also allowed me to show the progression and evolution in the character of Montalbano." [2]

As the head of the Vigàta police precinct, Montalbano is balancing between the demands of his superiors and the realities of local crime and life in general. In fact, a determining factor of his success as a Sicilian policeman seems to be his ability to bridge between different cultures. There is the "northern" force, coming from Rome, Milan that attempts to standardize regulations and increase transparency. On the opposite side is the particularistic "southern" culture with complex webs of relationships that affect the way things are done. Montalbano excels at balancing between these two, while being true to his principles.[3]

Inspector Montalbano lives and works in the fictional town of "Vigàta", in the similarly fictional district of "Montelusa". Camilleri based Vigàta on his home town of Porto Empedocle, on Sicily's south-west coast, while Montelusa, the district headquarters, is based on Agrigento.

In 2009, a statue of the inspector was placed in the centrally located Via Roma, in Porto Empedocle, commissioned by the mayor at the time to Italian artist Giuseppe Agnello. It does not resemble the Montalbano we see on TV at all, picturing him with his hand on a lamppost, wrinkles and a full head of hair, just like described in Camilleri's books.[4]

Camilleri's writings have enjoyed, and still enjoy, a huge popular success in Italy. Montalbano personifies Camilleri's writing style and is therefore at the core of this success, so much so that the evident resemblance between Porto Empedocle and Vigàta prompted the city of Porto Empedocle to rename itself "Porto Empedocle Vigàta" in 2003, although the decision was reversed in 2009. The Shape of Water (La forma dell’acqua) is the first episode in the series and was published in 1994, translated into English in 2002 by Stephen Sartarelli.

According to a statement by the author, a final book devoted to Montalbano and titled Riccardino, has already been delivered to the publisher, but without a release date. It represents the Inspector’s concluding story and will be the last book to be published in the series, as stated by the same Camilleri.[7]

^"I gave Riccardino to the publisher only on condition that it'll be pulled out when [my brain] is affected by irreversible Alzheimer. Meanwhile, currently in full possession of my senses and faculties, I'm enjoying myself inventing new stories."(From an interview on La Repubblica (Palermo ed.), 9 November 2006).